Five Questions with Mike Kelton
Michael Melamedoff and Cowboy Bear Ninja have had the lucky pleasure of collaborating with the incomparable Mike Kelton on TV shows and commercials. So naturally, Michael wanted to sit down with the infectiously joyful producer, director and podcast host to discuss creating across different mediums, how Late Night is inherently queer, and how comedy is the antidote for today’s times.
This interview has been condensed for length and clarity.
MICHAEL MELAMEDOFF: First of all thank you so much for doing this today. I’m really excited to sit down and talk with you. One of the things that I’ve always loved about collaborating with you is that we share a passion for telling difficult, necessary stories in surprisingly joyful ways. Where do you locate that joy in storytelling?
MIKE KELTON: I feel like my life has taught me that joy is a renewable resource – but you have to fight for it and find it. Going back to when I was a young, closeted kid in the late 90s, I think finding the courage to be my loud, gay self really taught me an early lesson that it’s always worth it to do the courageous thing – do the harder thing – in search of joy. So I think of Young Mike whenever I need to find joy, and I feel like he always has the answers of where the joy is. And when I examine what stories I want to tell now, I look at things that people are scared of. I love telling LGBTQ – and specifically right now trans – stories because there’s so much confusion and misinformation about trans-ness. So I love finding trans voices that have a level of joy that I find incredible and courageous, and I love sharing that because it reminds me of young gay – or closeted – Mike, in a way.
MELAMEDOFF: At a time when television is contracting, how do you fulfill your obligation to underrepresented stories/communities?
KELTON: My approach – I think – has shifted a bit, but ultimately I’m just interested in finding funny people. I think comedy has always been an antidote to fear and hate and shame, and I think that people are leading from a place of fear in our community. We’re living in such a divisive time politically and culturally, that I think comedy is the antidote. So I’m approaching people who I find really funny, and I think that’s helping me tell underrepresented stories because I’m partnering with voices who not only have an amazing story to tell, but they can also make people laugh. That will go further than someone who is a little bit more saccharine.
MELAMEDOFF: You've also directed commercials – has crossing between mediums impacted the way you think about story in other spaces?
KELTON: I actually don’t think so. I think regardless of the medium I’m working in, it’s about the people and their stories. The talent has the answers. Making them comfortable and uplifting their voices authentically has always solved any of my creative problems. When you try to solve creative problems outside of the people that the thing is about, you will always make mistakes because you’re making it more about you – the producer or the director – than the talent whose story you’re telling.
MELAMEDOFF: Speaking of crossing over, you host a podcast about the paranormal, BEYOND, which is – unsurprisingly – a delight. How'd you come to this subject matter?
KELTON: What brought me to that subject matter was a curiosity that has been there since I was a kid. I’ve always been a weird, witchy kid who believed a sound was a ghost or a thought was a psychic thought. And I’ve never tampered with that part of myself, similar to how I’ve really fallen in love with the parts of myself that culture told me when I was a kid were wrong. I haven’t dampened or suppressed those witchy thoughts and curiosities, which has allowed me to explore the supernatural in an earnest and joyful and funny way. Whereas many people who also have these thoughts and feelings – they get older and suppress them because they think it’s weird and embarrassing. But I think I just don’t have a lot of shame. It’s so funny, Andrew [my husband] and I talk about this a lot. I don’t have a lot of shame – and it makes it easier to tell stories or to think that my dresser’s haunted, because I’m not ashamed to think there’s a ghost in my dresser.
[They both laugh.]
MELAMEDOFF: What other genres do you think can be reclaimed?
KELTON: Yes! Late Night and Talk. I think Late Night has always been queer-coded. Graham Norton does an amazing job, and it’s one of the best shows on TV which is why it’s been on for so long. But we need a gay late night host here in the USA! Gays invented drinking too late and laughing too long. And that’s what late night is, right? And I think there’s so many people who can do it. Like Matteo Lane is someone who would be an amazing late night host. I think Matt [Rogers] and Bowen [Yang] would have an amazing late night show. I also want to bring back Variety. I’m watching PALM ROYALE right now with Carol Burnett – she is such a legend. And Carol Burnett was at the forefront of the variety era, and I think that Late Night could use a dash of Variety. Which, that’s gay. Gays invented Variety.
[They both laugh again.]
MELAMEDOFF: I would love to see a return to Variety! For the longest time, you and I have talked about creating a show that captures the essence of queer nightlife, and bringing that into Late Night feels like such a natural target. So, if anybody reading this is from a television network and wants to get back into business with us, holler.
KELTON: Give us a call!
MELAMEDOFF: Mike, thanks for doing this.
KELTON: Thanks Michael, this was so fun!
Photo of Mike Kelton courtesy of Jarred McGriff.
